The currently known short pulse lasers for generating laser pulses in the ps range with pulse energies of more than 10 μJ are constructed completely discretely using so-called free-space optics in order to achieve the stability and reliability demanded in industry and science. In this case, all the optical components necessary for generating the short laser pulses, including a seed laser oscillator, a postamplifier chain and a pulse picker, are mounted mechanically stably with respect to one another on an optical plate. In order that the free beam path realized thereby is kept inherently mechanically stable, water cooling and complex temperature stabilization are furthermore used. A construction using free-space optics requires a relatively large structural space. The required water cooling and temperature stabilization entail comparatively high operating costs. A construction using fiber technology is problematic owing to the occurrence of nonlinear optical effects. Without a stretcher-compressor combination, it is not possible to achieve the desired short pulse durations with sufficient pulse energy.